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Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Houston Texans30✓

Pittsburgh Steelers6

Final · Monday, January 12, 2026 · 8:00 p.m. ET · Acrisure Stadium

Head coaches: DeMeco Ryans (Texans) · Mike Tomlin (Steelers)

How it went

It ended 30–6, and 23 of the 30 came in the fourth quarter. Houston led 7–6 at the half and did not score in the third; then Ka'imi Fairbairn hit from 51, Sheldon Rankins returned a fumble 33 yards, Woody Marks ran in from 13 and Calen Bullock took an interception 50 yards the other way. Pittsburgh gained 175 yards on the day and went 2-for-14 on third down. Christian Kirk caught 144 yards for the Texans, Marks ran for 112, and C.J. Stroud threw for 250 and one score. Houston's defense, which was the reason the team was there, was the reason it went on.

Linescore

Team	1	2	3	4	T
Texans	0	7	0	23	30
Steelers	3	3	0	0	6

Scoring summary

Clock	Play	Team	Detail	HOU–PIT
Q1
6:02	FG	Steelers	Chris Boswell 32 Yd Field Goal	0–3
Q2
8:28	TD	Texans	Christian Kirk 6 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)	7–3
1:57	FG	Steelers	Chris Boswell 35 Yd Field Goal	7–6
Q4
13:07	FG	Texans	Ka'imi Fairbairn 51 Yd Field Goal	10–6
11:23	TD	Texans	Sheldon Rankins 33 Yd Fumble Return (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)	17–6
3:38	TD	Texans	Woody Marks 13 Yd Rush (Ka'imi Fairbairn Kick)	24–6
2:39	TD	Texans	Calen Bullock 50 Yd Interception Return (Ka'imi Fairbairn PAT Failed)	30–6

Team stats

Stat	Texans	Steelers
First downs	21	13
Total yards	408	175
Yards per play	6.2	3.1
Passing yards	244	112
Comp / att	21/32	18/34
Rushing yards	164	63
Third down	10-15	2-14
Fourth down	0-0	2-3
Red zone	2-3	0-2
Turnovers	3	2
Penalties – yards	6-44	3-24
Sacks – yards lost	3-6	4-36
Possession	32:22	27:38
Plays	66	56

Also	Texans	Steelers
Passing first downs	12	7
Rushing first downs	8	5
First downs by penalty	1	1
Drives	9	11
Yards per pass	7.0	2.9
Interceptions thrown	1	1
Rushing attempts	31	18
Yards per rush	5.3	3.5
Fumbles lost	2	1
Defensive / special-teams TDs	2	0

Player lines

Houston Texans

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
7C.J. Stroud	21/32	250	7.8	1	1	3-6	62.2	86.7

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
27Woody Marks	19	112	5.9	1	20
21Nick Chubb	10	48	4.8	0	9
87Cade Stover	1	4	4.0	0	4
7C.J. Stroud	1	0	0.0	0	0
Team	31	164	5.3	1	20

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
13Christian Kirk	8	144	18.0	1	46	9
81Jayden Higgins	3	39	13.0	0	16	4
19Xavier Hutchinson	2	21	10.5	0	16	4
12Nico Collins	3	21	7.0	0	13	7
87Cade Stover	2	13	6.5	0	8	2
86Dalton Schultz	3	12	4.0	0	6	4
27Woody Marks	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
14Jaylin Noel	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
Team	21	250	11.9	1	46	32

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
7C.J. Stroud	5	2	3
90Sheldon Rankins	0	0	1
Team	5	2	4

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS	TD
5Jalen Pitre	7	5	0	2	0	0	0
39Henry To'oTo'o	7	2	0	0	0	1	0
0Azeez Al-Shaair	6	3	0	1	0	0	0
4Kamari Lassiter	6	3	0	1	1	0	0
72Tommy Togiai	5	2	0	1	0	0	0
31Damone Clark	4	3	0	0	0	0	0
2Calen Bullock	3	3	0	0	1	0	1
56Jamal Hill	3	1	0	1	0	0	0
23Jaylen Reed	3	1	0	0	0	0	0
51Will Anderson Jr.	3	0	0.5	0	0	3	0
91Naquan Jones	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
90Sheldon Rankins	2	1	1.5	1	0	2	1
55Danielle Hunter	1	1	1	1	0	2	0
11Tremon Smith	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
25Myles Bryant	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
24Derek Stingley Jr.	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
19Xavier Hutchinson	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
40Austin Brinkman	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
96Denico Autry	1	0	0.5	0	2	2	0
45E.J. Speed	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
95Derek Barnett	1	0	0.5	0	0	2	0
44British Brooks	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team	61	32	4	8	4	12	2

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
2Calen Bullock	1	50	1

Kick returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
14Jaylin Noel	3	59	19.7	22	0

Punt returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
14Jaylin Noel	3	22	7.3	12	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS	Made from
15Ka'imi Fairbairn	1/1	100.0	51	3/4	6	51

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
6Tommy Townsend	3	125	41.7	0	1	60

Pittsburgh Steelers

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	INT	SACKS	QBR	RTG
8Aaron Rodgers	17/33	146	4.4	1	4-36	14.9	50.8
2Mason Rudolph	1/1	2	2.0	0	0-0	99.9	79.2
Team	18/34	112	4.4	1	4-36	--	52.1

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
30Jaylen Warren	12	43	3.6	12
14Kenny Gainwell	6	20	3.3	14
Team	18	63	3.5	14

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	TGTS
4DK Metcalf	2	42	21.0	25	5
11Marquez Valdes-Scantling	3	26	8.7	14	5
14Kenny Gainwell	4	26	6.5	12	6
16Adam Thielen	2	25	12.5	21	2
88Pat Freiermuth	1	18	18.0	18	3
19Calvin Austin III	3	8	2.7	6	6
30Jaylen Warren	1	4	4.0	4	1
81Jonnu Smith	2	-1	-0.5	0	3
Team	18	148	8.2	25	31

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
8Aaron Rodgers	2	1	0
90T.J. Watt	0	0	1
66Mason McCormick	0	0	1
94Yahya Black	0	0	1
Team	2	1	3

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS
6Patrick Queen	10	7	0	0	0	0
90T.J. Watt	6	3	0	0	0	1
21Chuck Clark	6	3	0	1	1	0
29Kyle Dugger	6	3	0	0	0	0
99Derrick Harmon	6	2	1	0	0	1
51Nick Herbig	5	2	0	0	0	0
5Jalen Ramsey	4	3	0	0	0	0
42James Pierre	4	2	0	0	0	0
41Payton Wilson	4	2	0	0	1	0
95Keeanu Benton	4	1	1	1	0	1
15Ben Skowronek	3	1	0	0	0	0
26Brandin Echols	3	1	0	0	1	0
97Cameron Heyward	3	0	0	0	0	0
24Joey Porter Jr.	2	2	0	0	2	0
50Malik Harrison	2	1	0	0	0	0
40Jabrill Peppers	2	0	0	0	0	0
93Esezi Otomewo	2	0	0	0	0	0
44Carson Bruener	2	0	0	0	0	0
94Yahya Black	2	0	0	0	0	0
33Jack Sawyer	1	1	1	1	0	0
22Asante Samuel Jr.	1	1	0	0	0	0
56Alex Highsmith	1	0	0	0	1	0
Team	79	35	3	3	6	3

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
26Brandin Echols	1	0	0

Kick returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
14Kenny Gainwell	4	100	25.0	28	0

Punt returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
19Calvin Austin III	1	14	14.0	14	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS	Made from
9Chris Boswell	2/2	100.0	35	0/0	6	32, 35

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
3Corliss Waitman	6	273	45.5	0	4	56

Entering the game

The final regular-season table and the seeds the bracket was drawn from.

Houston Texans · 12-5 · AFC 5 seed

Pittsburgh Steelers · 10-7 · AFC 4 seed, won the AFC North

Officials and attendance

Attendance: 67,297

Officials: Side Judge Frank Steratore · Referee Craig Wrolstad · Field Judge John Jenkins · Back Judge Rich Martinez · Down Judge Daniel Gallagher · Umpire Brandon Cruse · Line Judge Brett Bergman

Wild Card on the schedule · Kickoff is ET, resolved for the date. The away team is listed first, as football says it. Colours are the clubs’ own; there are no logos on this site.